Trouble in the Four Lands
by Demons-Are-Scary
Summary: Trouble is brewing in the Four Lands. Tael Riverine is marching on Arborlon, using Khyber Elessedil and Redden Ohmsford, who were imprisoned, as bait to lure Railing and a stranger into a trap.
1. Chapter 1

Trouble in the Four Lands

Disclaimer: I do not own The Dark Legacy of Shannara trilogy. All rights go to Terry Brooks. I do, however, own the characters you do not know.

Railing Ohmsford woke up to find his leg aching. Brushing his red hair away from his eyes and glancing down, he noticed that somebody had put a splint on it. Railing closed his eyes and tried to breathe slowly and move his leg. The pain intensified and he yelped. Crace Coram hurried over and checked the splint, then looked at Railing sympathetically.

"Easy, there, Railing," Crace said.

"Where is Redden?" the boy asked the dwarf.

"Your twin is in the Forbidding, with Khyber Elessedil and about half of our company," he replied, sighing.

"I hope they are safe."

"I hope so, too, Railing."

Upon hearing this, Railing's heart sank. He loved Redden and did not want anything bad to happen to him. Crace called the remaining members of the company for a meeting to discuss their next move. They quickly gathered around Railing and Crace. The dwarf was somewhat nervous, but the half-elf was not.

The sun had set by the time the meeting was over. Crace had told the others about the dream he had the previous night. In his dream, he said, Tael Riverine had planned to invade the Four Lands, using the prisoners as bait to lure the company into a trap. Railing had said his brother and Khyber Elessedil were two of the prisoners. The others had been stunned to learn that Khyber had been imprisoned and had argued that a rescue attempt was impossible until they had more information with which to work. They had no idea that they were being watched by a teen-aged human with green eyes, multi-colored hair and teeth that were so straight they could not have originally belonged to him.


	2. Chapter 2

Trouble in the Four Lands Chapter Two

Disclaimer: I do not own The Dark Legacy of Shannara trilogy. All rights go to Terry Brooks.

The stranger decided to step out of the shadows. He moved slowly, his hand on his sword, his green eyes darting from Railing to Crace to the others in the group and back. They noticed him and were not surprised, for they had seen stranger people over the years. The group noticed that the newcomer had multiple skin-tones connected by seams. He blinked once while trying to understand what he saw for he had never been to the Pacific Northwest until the previous week.

An awkward silence fell as the company contemplated what they were seeing. They had seen strange people, but never one with multi-colored hair, multi-toned skin, and green eyes. A gentle breeze blew. Finally, Railing introduced himself, followed by Crace. The others followed after a few minutes.

"I am pleased to meet you, Lester," Railing said.

"I am pleased to meet you, too, Railing," he replied slowly.

"My friends and I are searching for a few other people, including my twin, Redden," Railing said.

"I am searching for my own twin, Langley," Lester replied.

"What happened to him, Lester?"

"He was imprisoned a few weeks ago."

The revelation that they had something in common planted a seed of friendship between Railing and Lester. Crace sensed it, too. Now that they knew there were more prisoners, the company would need to act quickly to prevent them from being brainwashed into joining Tael Riverine's army. The company would need to split up to launch a two-pronged attack. The first group would attack the demons while the second group would free the prisoners.

The plan would have to wait, however, because everybody was tired. Night fell one hour later. Lester was the only one who had a dream. He dreamed about the past week. He had ended up in the Pacific Northwest when he and Langley were separated after being ambushed by armed goblins. The goblins had chased the teenagers into the Southland and captured Langley after a brief struggle near Shady Vale.


	3. Chapter 3

Trouble in the Four Lands Chapter Three

By: Demons-Are-Scary

Disclaimer; I do not own The Dark Legacy of Shannara trilogy. All rights go to Terry Brooks.

The next morning, the company started searching for their friends. Railing suggested they head north first. They agreed, after some hesitation. The trek lasted three hours. Upon seeing the mountains, the company knew that the rescue attempt would get more difficult. They cautiously approached the mountains as the temperature steadily decreased until it was slightly above freezing.

When they were halfway to the mountains, the company noticed a Demon approaching. Railing used the Wishsong to send the demon back to the mountains, one of which was Syrring Rise, formerly known as Mount Rainier. The rest of the trek to the mountains was uneventful. The company did not encounter any more demons, but they did encounter a Goblin. It looked at them curiously before running away, going back to its lair.

"We should turn west in one hour," Crace said.

"I agree," Railing said.

"If we are ambushed, we will need to fight back."

"How are we going to fight if half the company is missing?"

"I have a plan," Crace replied.

More goblins showed up, almost as if they had overheard Crace and decided to attack. The company successfully drove the attackers away. Railing used the wishsong again, while Lester drew his sword and would have sliced three goblins in half if they had not escaped. The rest of the goblins followed when Crace and Railing scared them. After that, the company did not encounter any more goblins or other demons for the rest of the day, or even during the night. The company were cautiously optimistic about their chances of rescuing their friends.


	4. Chapter 4

Trouble in the Four Lands Chapter Four

Disclaimer: I do not own The Dark Legacy of Shannara trilogy. All rights go to Terry Brooks.

The next morning, shortly before dawn, the company resumed their trek to the Forbidding. They advanced slowly, with Railing in the front of the group followed by Crace Coram and the others. The sun rose one hour later and the sky was overcast. A faint wind blew but none of the company noticed. Along the way, some Demons, including Furies and Harpies, attacked, wounding Crace and Lester. Their wounds were not fatal.

"Crace, are you alright?" Railing asked.

"No, my leg hurts," the Dwarf replied weakly.

"Do we have another splint?" Railing asked.

"Yes, as a matter of fact, we do," a Troll replied.

"Thank you very much."

"You're welcome, Railing," the Troll said.

Railing took the splint and put it on Crace Coram's leg. He did the same with Tyler. Both of them groaned, then fell asleep. With three members of the company injured, including a foreigner, progress would be slow at best. Railing did not like their odds. If they kept getting attacked, they would never save their friends from joining Tael Riverine's army and taking over the Four Lands.

These thoughts kept running through Railing's mind for the rest of the day. He knew the others were thinking the same thing because none of them spoke. They made little progress, but were not attacked, much to everyone's relief. When the sun set, the company had advanced less than half a mile. They decided to rest at the foot of a mountain half an hour later.

Crace had a troubling dream. In it, he saw a flashback to the Great Wars. Nuclear weapons were being fired in all directions. A voice was laughing hysterically. Meanwhile, a group of prisoners were screaming. The scene shifted, and Crace saw an explosion at a bridge. Steel and shrapnel flew everywhere. The temperature increased steadily.


	5. Chapter 5

Trouble in the Four Lands Chapter Five

Disclaimer: I do not own The Dark Legacy of Shannara trilogy; Terry Brooks does.

The dream ended abruptly as the sun rose. Crace Coram was the first to wake up. He looked around, noting that the sky was clear. The dwarf wondered what his dream meant. It had seemed frighteningly real. Shaking his head, he waited for the others to wake up and told them about his dream.

The company made little progress. Crace and Railing were discussing their plan for the next day. The others were lost in thought. They knew that an attack on Arborlon would mean the end for the elves and give the demons access to elven magic. Such an outcome would be disastrous for the Four Lands and whatever was left of the rest of the world.

By noon, the company arrived in the Skull Kingdom, in the Northland. They met a few Trolls along the route to Skull Mountain. The Trolls agreed to help. They became bodyguards for the company. Satisfied that they had successfully befriended the Trolls, the company continued their trek to the Forbidding.

The trek lasted the rest of the day. Shortly before midnight, the company reached the tunnel leading to the Forbidding. They decided to enter in the morning. Railing said he would watch for any demons in the vicinity. The others knew Railing's plan would work. The night was calm.

By the next day, the company had received news of clashes between Trolls and goblins and decided to investigate. The company advanced slowly for fear of getting drawn into the battle unprepared. Railing led the group, followed by Crace. The dwarf noticed the sunrise and noted that their surroundings provided sufficient cover for ambushes, should one be necessary. He also noted that the sky was partly cloudy and the air was cool. The Trolls were close to winning the battle, driving the goblins into a valley from which they could not hope to escape. The goblins knew they were doomed.

Railing and his company intervened on behalf of the Trolls. The company and the Trolls drove the Goblins further into the valley and demanded that they surrender. The goblins refused. The company reiterated their demand and threatened to destroy the goblins if they did not comply. Fearing for their lives, the Goblins reluctantly did as they were told.


	6. Chapter 6

Trouble in the Four Lands Chapter Six

Disclaimer: I do not own _The Dark Legacy of Shannara._ All rights go to Terry Brooks.

The company continued to advance toward the Forbidding. They entered the tunnel behind an apparent waterfall, which turned out to be something else. The group walked single file through the tunnel. No one spoke. Crace Coram and Railing Ohmsford were thinking about their chances of success. Everybody else wondered if they were walking into a trap. The thought worried them.

Ignoring the thought, the group focused on the task at hand. As soon as they entered the Forbidding, the group realized their fear was justified. Railing's group had to fight their way to the prisoners and unlock a cage containing one of them. Once that task was accomplished, the group escaped, running back through the tunnel. Redden was accompanied by the Ulk Bog Tesla Dart and the shapeshifter Oriantha. Tesla whispered something to Redden, whose eyes widened. Redden and Khyber asked Railing what took him so long to find them. Railing explained that his company had to take a detour, and along the way they had met a foreigner. The foreigner had introduced himself as Lester and had been forced by some Trolls to enter the Four Lands in search of his own twin. Redden listened while Railing described that incident.

"Now what are we going to do?" Railing asked.

"That is a good question," his brother replied, shrugging. "I am afraid, however, that you have fallen into a trap."

"Oh, great," Railing replied sarcastically.

"Now what are we going to do?" Redden asked.

"We need to get out of here, Redden," Railing said.

"I agree with you, Railing," his brother said.

Before they could escape, however, they were ambushed. The Demons cut the boys off from their allies. The Demons split up, some going after the twins. Most of the latter group of Demons went after Railing. He defeated them and assisted his brother, who had been quickly overwhelmed. The battle ended when the twins and their allies drove most of the Demons away, except a few Goblins and Ulk Bogs.

The company escaped from the Forbidding almost immediately after the battle. None of them said a word. Night was falling and Redden and Oriantha wondered if that was an omen. Tesla Dart reassured them that it was probably nothing. The boy and the shapeshifter were not convinced. They kept glancing at the sky as if it would fall at any moment. Shaking their heads, they continued walking. Meanwhile, Lester had found his brother Langley and they had seemingly vanished into thin air.


End file.
